Summer is typically slow for many small businesses not in the travel industry. Here’s how to overcome some summer business challenges:

Slow sales

Cash flow can dramatically slow down during the summer months. One way to combat this is to add summer promotions and specials. Find ways to tie your business to summer activities. Have a giveaway for free ice cream at a local shop or tickets to a movie theater.

Give regular customers rewards for referrals. This makes the regular customers feel special but also brings in new customers. Word of mouth is still powerful.

Plan special deals for slow days. A restaurant might add a trivia night or a kids eat free evening. A mechanic might offer a ladies day with discounted oil changes.

Employee vacations

Make sure you have processes in place and perhaps a tool to make sure that there’s adequate coverage. Have your employees request summer vacation time well in advance. Look at the calendar and make sure there are no duplicate times that will cause problems.

If you’re going to be too short-handed, see if you can add some overtime to other employees or work with a temp agency.

Low productivity

Make sure productivity doesn’t drop in the summer by having extra assignments lined up ahead of time. Fill an employee’s workload first with their regular tasks. But then have extra activities planned such as catching up on filing or filling out documents, cleaning and organizing workspace, or working on new ideas that might be hard to implement during busy times.

Now is also the perfect time for team-building and education. Hold that seminar on improving customer service (or update procedures to reduce waste and cut cost) that you’ve wanted to do but haven’t had time.

Work/Life balance

Work is important, but so is your family. Use the time while the kids are out of school to create some lasting family memories. Plan vacations even if it’s only camping at the local state park and get your children involved in coming up with ideas for trips.

Make sure your children are occupied during the summer with fun activities such as drama or art classes. Summer camps offer a chance to experience nature and give your children a feeling of some independence.

Disorganized Financial Systems

Summer is the best time to make sure that your books and financial systems are in tip top shape. Don’t wait until tax time to get your bookkeeping in order. You can take advantage of slow months to make sure all transactions are entered into your computer system. Also, check out your cash flow and make sure you don’t have outstanding accounts that need to be contacted.

We can help you overcome your summer business challenges and make the most of your company’s productivity during the summer. Contact us today at (602) 703-4285.

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